Australians Say Home Ownership Means Happiness

Most Australians feel that home ownership is important for their overall happiness, providing not only a sense of financial security but also contributing to their emotional wellbeing. Those are the findings of a research report undertaken by the customer-owned Great Southern Bank.

The research contains insights from almost 2,000 Australians on how they’re feeling about their current living situation. It found homeowners are significantly happier with their homes than renters, and the more equity they have in their homes, the happier they feel. Happiness is highest for mortgage-free homeowners, with 57 percent saying they were ‘very happy’ compared to 45 percent of homeowners with a mortgage and 29 percent of long-term renters.

Megan Keleher, Chief Customer Officer at Great Southern Bank, said: “What this report illustrates is the strong link between home ownership and happiness – in fact 7 out of 10 Australians say home ownership is important to their overall happiness,” Ms Keleher said. “Just 5 percent – or one in 20 – say it is not at all important. And perhaps not surprisingly, happiness with our home increases as we get older, and as we move towards becoming mortgage-free.”

The report found that 51 percent of renters are feeling heavily burdened by their financial commitments compared to 36 percent of homeowners. About 84 percent of long-term renters say they are concerned about current cost-of-living pressures compared to 73 percent of homeowners. And 80 percent are worried about housing affordability compared to 62 percent of owners.

Ms Kelaher said 29 percent of renters and 18 percent of long-term renters were still feeling confident that they could achieve their home ownership dreams. One in two renters said they were hopeful of buying a home to live in within the next three years, however saving a deposit is the key barrier.

“Of course, we acknowledge that the homeownership journey can be difficult and one of the biggest challenges faced by first home buyers is saving a deposit,” said Ms Keleher. “For those buyers who are finding it difficult to save a deposit, there is support available from several government initiatives. For instance, the Federal Government Home Guarantee Scheme’s expanded eligibility criteria is helping more first-time buyers, as well as those who haven’t owned a home for many years.”

One in 10 respondents who had previously planned to buy a home are now holding off, saying they feel deterred by rising property prices (60 percent), the cost of living (60 percent) or rising interest rates (45 percent). New CoreLogic data shows the national home value rose by 8.1 percent in 2023. Meantime, interest rates have risen dramatically since May 2022 from an emergency low of 0.1 percent to 4.35 percent today.

The report also asked respondents how satisfied they were with various elements of their homes, such as style and location.

About 72 percent of baby boomers were happy with their home’s location compared to 61 percent of Gen Xers, 58 percent of millennials and 48 percent of Gen Zs. About 62 percent of baby boomers liked the internal look and feel of their homes versus 51 percent of Gen Xers and 48 percent of both millennials and Gen Zs.

It appears many Australians are living in homes that are too big or small for them, with the size of homes recording some of the lowest satisfaction scores. Just 65 percent of baby boomers are happy with the size of their homes compared to 48 percent of Gen Xers, 42 percent of millennials and 40 percent of Gen Zs.

The most convincing luxury interiors rarely need to announce their value.

Their appeal is revealed more gradually: in the weight of a door, the texture of a natural material, the proportion of the furniture or the way lighting changes the mood of a room after dark.

It is this quieter expression of luxury that has shaped the work of Charlie Rizk, founder and design director of Sydney studio Edge Design Consultants.

Established in 2006, the boutique practice works across residential and commercial interiors, offering services that range from architectural interior design and material selection to bespoke furniture, furnishing and final styling.

Its portfolio spans family homes, waterfront retreats, commercial workplaces and apartments within some of Sydney’s most prominent residential buildings. But according to the studio’s philosophy, the common thread is not a readily identifiable aesthetic.

Instead, it is an emphasis on longevity, personalisation and a close relationship between designer and client.

From the salon to the design studio

Rizk’s route into interior design was unconventional.

Before establishing Edge Design Consultants, he founded the Sydney hair salon Escapadehfb. While the two businesses operate in different creative fields, Rizk’s early career gave him experience in interpreting highly personal client briefs.

That ability to listen — and to distinguish between what a client initially requests and how they ultimately want to feel — became central to his work in interiors.

A client may arrive with a collection of reference images, favourite colours or individual pieces of furniture. The designer’s role is not simply to assemble those elements. It is to identify the underlying preference connecting them and translate it into a coherent environment.

That distinction becomes particularly important in bespoke residential design, where the success of a room is determined by more than its appearance in photographs.

The interior must accommodate routines, collections, entertaining, children, pets, privacy and storage. Materials must also be selected according to how they will perform after years of use.

A deliberately boutique model

Edge Design Consultants has remained a relatively small studio, allowing Rizk to maintain personal involvement across its projects.

For clients, that structure offers continuity. Architectural detailing, fixtures, finishes, furniture and styling can be developed as parts of the same design narrative rather than commissioned as disconnected stages.

The studio’s full-service model can begin with spatial planning and architectural interiors before progressing through mood boards, material selections, custom furniture and the final installation.

This continuity is particularly valuable on complex homes involving architects, builders, specialist trades, suppliers and landscape designers. Decisions made at the beginning of a project can affect everything that follows, from the dimensions of a custom sofa to the placement of lighting, power and joinery.

Bringing the interior designer into the process early can help prevent decorative decisions from being imposed on a largely completed building.

It also creates opportunities for furniture, art and objects to inform the architecture itself.

The case against a signature look

Many successful designers become associated with a recognisable palette or recurring visual device. Edge takes a less prescriptive position.

The studio’s work includes warm, layered family interiors as well as more restrained contemporary apartments and sharper commercial spaces. Its stated priorities are durability, considered materials and an understanding of the way each space will be occupied.

This does not mean abandoning a point of view. Rather, the designer’s sensibility is expressed through proportion, editing and consistency instead of a formula repeated from one project to another.

For affluent homeowners, this can be an important distinction. A heavily trend-driven interior may look current when completed but quickly reveal the moment in which it was designed.

An enduring home needs enough character to feel individual without becoming hostage to a short-lived fashion.

Natural stone, timber, metalwork and well-made furniture can provide that foundation, but material expense alone does not create permanence. The detailing, installation and relationship between the materials matter just as much.

Designing from the building out

Edge’s published portfolio includes residential projects in Pymble, Epping, North Rocks, Strathfield, Pyrmont and Wagstaffe, along with the furnishing and styling of a residence in Crown Sydney. A Pymble residence (below) was featured on Channel Nine’s Australia’s Best House in 2023.

The scope varies between projects.

Some commissions involve complete architectural interior design, furniture and styling. Others focus on furnishing an existing residence, where the challenge is to introduce identity without altering the underlying architecture.

A penthouse, for example, may already possess exceptional views, finishes and proportions. The designer’s task is then to create intimacy, establish visual rhythm and ensure the furniture remains appropriately scaled to the volume of the rooms.

A freestanding family home presents different considerations. Storage, circulation, durability and the relationship between indoor and outdoor areas may take precedence over creating a formal sense of arrival.

The best result is not necessarily the most dramatic. It is the one in which the architecture, finishes, furniture and objects feel as though they were always intended to coexist.

Luxury as a personal experience

After 20 years, Edge Design Consultants sits within a design market transformed by social media and unprecedented access to international references.

Clients can now identify furniture, stone, lighting and interiors from around the world before their first conversation with a designer. That access can broaden a brief, but it can also produce an overwhelming collection of competing ideas.

The designer’s role is increasingly one of curation: deciding what belongs, what should be removed and which references can be translated convincingly into an Australian home.

For Rizk, the boutique scale of Edge allows that process to remain personal.

The studio’s version of luxury is therefore not defined by a single material, brand or visual signature. It lies in the time spent understanding a client, the care with which each element is selected and the sense that the completed space belongs specifically to the people living within it.

Fact box

Designer: Charlie Rizk
Role: Founder and design director
Studio: Edge Design Consultants
Established: 2006
Location: Sydney, NSW
Services: Architectural interior design, spatial planning, mood boards, fixtures and finishes, bespoke furniture, furnishing and styling
Project types: Luxury residences, apartments, penthouses and boutique commercial interiors
Selected locations: Pymble, Epping, North Rocks, Strathfield, Pyrmont, Wagstaffe, Macquarie Park and Crown Sydney
Selected media: Australia’s Best House, Kanebridge Quarterly and Robb Report Australia
Website: edgedesignconsultants.com.au
Instagram: @edge_design_consultants